Two-transistor pixel with buried reset channel and method of formation

ABSTRACT

A two-transistor pixel of an imager has a reset region formed adjacent a charge collection region of a photodiode and in electrical communication with a gate of a source follower transistor. The reset region is connected to one terminal of a capacitor which integrates collected charge of the photodiode. The charge collection region is reset by pulsing the other terminal of the capacitor from a higher to a lower voltage.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/230,079 filed on Aug. 29, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,744,084 issued onJun. 1, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for resetting acharge collection node of a CMOS imager pixel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

CMOS imagers have been increasingly used as low cost imaging devices. ACMOS imager circuit includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, eachone of the cells typically including a photodiode for integratingphoto-generated charge in the underlying portion of a substrate, asource follower transistor which receives a voltage from the photodiodeand provides an output signal, and a reset transistor for resetting thephotodiode to a predetermined voltage before a charge integrationperiod. In some implementations a transfer transistor may be used totransfer charge from the photodiode to a diffusion node connected to thesource follower transistor.

FIG. 1 illustrates a known three-transistor (3T) pixel cell 20. As shownin FIG. 1, the photocollection region 30 of a photodiode is electricallyconnected to the gate of a source follower transistor 36, the output ofwhich is selectively applied to column output line 41 by row selecttransistor 38. Reset transistor 32 selectively resets thephotocollection region 30 to a predetermined voltage by coupling avoltage Vdd to the photocollection region 30 during a reset period whichprecedes or follows a charge integration period. A four-transistor (4T)design provides a transfer transistor to switch charge from thephotocollection region 30 to the gate of source follower transistor 36.

While the 3T and 4T pixel cell structures work well, there is an everincreasing desire to minimize the number of transistors used in a pixelto reduce pixel size and increase pixel density in an array. There isalso a further desire to simplify overall pixel design and fabricationcomplexity.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a simplified two-transistor (2T) pixelfor a CMOS active pixel imager which omits a conventional resettransistor in favor of a buried reset channel region for resetting acharge collection region of a photodiode. The reset region is providedbetween a voltage source and a photodiode. Reset is accomplished byapplying a pulse voltage to one side of a capacitor, the other side ofwhich is coupled to the reset region which forces charge to be ejectedfrom the photodiode.

These and other advantages and features of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed description and accompanyingdrawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a conventional exemplary 3T pixelcell;

FIG. 2 is a substrate cross-sectional view of the beginning stage offabrication of a pixel cell in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a substrate schematic cross-sectional view of the pixel cellat a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a substrate schematic cross-sectional view of the pixel cellat a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a substrate schematic cross-sectional view of the pixel cellat a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a substrate schematic cross-sectional view of the pixel cellat a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a substrate schematic cross-sectional view of the pixel cellat a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of the barrier potential of thepixel cell of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the pixel structure depicted in FIG. 7;and

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a computer processor systemincorporating an imager device having an array of pixels fabricatedaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown byway of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is tobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and thatstructural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The term “substrate” is to be understood as a semiconductor-basedmaterial including silicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) orsilicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors,epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductorfoundation, and other semiconductor structures. Furthermore, whenreference is made to a “substrate” in the following description,previous process steps may have been utilized to form regions orjunctions in the base semiconductor structure or foundation. Inaddition, the semiconductor need not be silicon-based, but could bebased on silicon-germanium, germanium, or gallium arsenide.

The term “pixel” refers to a picture element unit cell containing aphotosensor and transistors for converting light radiation to anelectrical signal. For purposes of illustration, a representative pixelis illustrated in the figures and description herein and, typically,fabrication of all pixels in an imager will proceed simultaneously in asimilar fashion. Also, although the invention is described below showingone exemplary cross-sectional arrangement of the pixel cell asfabricated in a substrate, it should be apparent that many otherarrangements are also possible.

Referring now to the drawings, where like elements are designated bylike reference numerals, FIGS. 2-7 illustrate an exemplary embodiment ofa method of forming a two-transistor CMOS pixel 100 (FIG. 7) having aburied reset region 199 formed in contact with and adjacent a chargecollection region 126 of a photodiode 188, which also has a region 124over region 126 which is of complementary conductivity type to region126. The reset region 199 acts as an extension of charge collectionregion 126 of photodiode 188 and also functions to reset the extendedcharge collection region. As explained in detail below, the reset region199 (FIG. 7) is formed by implanting dopants of a first conductivity,for example n-type, and at a first dopant concentration in a substrate110, which has a region or well 120 of a second conductivity type, forexample p-type. The buried reset channel 199 (FIG. 7) contacts with thecharge collection region 126 of the first conductivity type, for examplen-type, and is provided with a contact region 177 (FIG. 7) of the firstconductivity type, for example n-type. The contact region 177 is furtherconnected by a conductor 137 to a gate of a source follower transistor136, the output of which (drain 140) is connected to a row selecttransistor 138.

The contact region 177 is also connected to one side of a chargecapacitor 171, the other side of which receives a signal Vpd from resetsignal source 176. A region 166 of the second conductivity type, forexample p-type, is also fabricated within the buried reset channel 199and is electrically coupled to the photodiode 188 region 124 through aconductivity segment 157. The conductive segment 157 may be formed as acontinuation of doped regions 124 and 166 into or out of the plane ofthe FIG. 7 cross-section illustration such that they merge. The dopingconcentration of the buried reset channel 199 is higher than the dopingconcentration of the charge collection region 126, causing electronsproduced at region 126 to flow through the buried reset channel 199 tothe contact region 177 and the regions 126 and channel 199 tocollectively act as a charge collection region of photodiode 188. Themanner in which the FIG. 7 structure is fabricated will be describedbelow.

One exemplary method of fabricating the FIG. 7 structure will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 2-7. FIG. 2 illustrates across-sectional view of substrate 110 on and within which the formationof elements of the pixel 100 will be described. For exemplary purposes,the substrate 110 is a silicon substrate. However, as noted above, theinvention has equal application to other semiconductor substrates.

FIG. 2 illustrates two isolation regions 150 which surround and isolatefabricated pixels. Multi-layered gate stacks 136 a and 138 a of sourcefollower and row select transistors 136 and 138, respectively, areformed over the silicon substrate 110 within the area defined by theisolation regions 150. The source follower and row select gate stacks136 a, 138 a comprise a first gate oxide layer 131 of grown or depositedsilicon oxide on the silicon substrate 110, a conductive layer 132 ofdoped polysilicon or other suitable conductor material, and a secondinsulating layer 133, which may be formed of, for example, silicon oxide(silicon dioxide), nitride (silicon nitride), oxynitride (siliconoxynitride), ON (oxide-nitride), NO (nitride-oxide), or ONO(oxide-nitride-oxide). The first and second insulating layers 131, 133and the conductive layer 132 may be formed by conventional depositionmethods, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or plasma enhancedchemical vapor deposition (PECVD), among many others.

If desired, a silicide layer (not shown) may be also formed in themulti-layered gate stacks 136 a, 138 a between the conductive layer 132and the second insulating layer 133. Advantageously, the gate structuresof all other transistors in the imager circuit design may have thisadditionally formed silicide layer. This silicide layer may be titaniumsilicide, tungsten silicide, cobalt silicide, molybdenum silicide, ortantalum silicide. The silicide layer could also be a barrierlayer/refractory metal such as TiN/W or WN_(x)/W or it could be entirelyformed of WN_(x). FIG. 4 also illustrates insulating sidewall spacers134 formed on the sides of the source follower gate 136 a and of the rowselect gate 138 a. The sidewall spacers 134 may be formed, for example,of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, ON, NO, ONO orTEOS, among others.

The isolation regions 150 which are formed within the substrate 110 arefilled with a dielectric material, which may be an oxide material, forexample a silicon oxide such as SiO or SiO₂, oxynitride, a nitridematerial such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide, a high temperaturepolymer, or other suitable dielectric materials. In a preferredembodiment, however, the isolation regions 150 are shallow trenchisolation regions and the dielectric material is a high density plasma(HDP) oxide, a material which has a high ability to effectively fillnarrow trenches. Thus, for simplicity, reference to the isolationregions 150 will be made in this application as to the shallow trenchisolation regions 150. The shallow trench isolation regions 150 have adepth of about 1,000 to about 4,000 Angstroms, more preferably of about2,000 Angstroms.

Although FIGS. 2-7 illustrate only a portion of the substrate 110 withonly two shallow trench isolation regions 150, it must be understoodthat the present invention contemplates the simultaneous formation ofmore than two shallow trench isolation structures at various locationson the substrate 110 to isolate the pixels one from another and toisolate other structures as well.

In addition, if desired, a thin insulating layer (not shown) may beformed on the sidewalls and bottom of the shallow trench before thefilling of the trench with the dielectric material which, as notedabove, is preferably a high density plasma (HDP) oxide. The thininsulating layer may be formed of an oxide or of silicon nitride, forexample, to aid in smoothing out the corners in the bottom of the trenchand to reduce the amount of stress in the dielectric material used tolater fill in the trenches.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a p-n-p photodiode 188 is formed by regions124, 126 and 120 within the substrate 110. The doping concentration ofeach of the regions 124, 126 and 120 of the p-n-p photodiode 188 isselected to set a low pinning potential of the p-n-p photodiode 188,that is a pinning potential of less than about 0.5 V, more preferablyabout 0.3 to less than about 0.5 V. As known in the art, a low pinningpotential is desirable since the lower the pinning potential, the lowerthe electric fields and the lower the dark current in the pixel.

The p-type doped layer 120 is a lightly doped layer formed in an area ofthe substrate 110 beneath the active area of the pixel 100 formed byconducting a light dopant implantation with a dopant of a firstconductivity type, which for exemplary purposes is p-type. The p-typedoped layer 120 may be formed subsequent to the formation of the shallowtrench isolation (STI) 150 and of the two transistor gate stacks 136 a,138 a. However, it must be understood that the p-type doped layer 120may be also formed prior to the formation of the shallow trenchisolation (STI) 150 and/or gate stacks 136 a, 138 a. Alternatively,layer 120 may be a p-type epitaxial layer formed at the upper portion ofsubstrate 110.

The n-type region 126 (FIG. 3) is formed by implanting dopants of asecond conductivity type, which for exemplary purposes is n-type, in anarea of the substrate 110 located between the shallow trench isolation(STI) 150 and the transistor gate stacks 136 a, 138 a. The implantedn-doped region 126 is defined by a mask and forms a photosensitivecharge storage region for collecting and storing photogeneratedelectrons. N-type dopants such as arsenic, antimony, or phosphorous maybe employed.

The p-type pinned surface layer 124 is also formed by conducting amasked dopant implantation with a dopant of the first conductivity type,which for exemplary purposes is p-type, so that p-type ions areimplanted into the area of the substrate over the implanted n-typeregion 126 and between the source follower transistor 136 and shallowtrench isolation region 150. P-type dopants such as boron, beryllium,indium and magnesium may be employed for the formation of the p-typepinned surface layer 124.

Subsequent to the formation of the p-n-p photodiode 188 and of thesource follower and row select transistor gates 136 a, 138 a, a firstphotoresist layer 167 (FIG. 4) is formed over the p-n-p photodiode 188to a thickness of about 1,000 Angstroms to about 10,000 Angstroms. Thefirst photoresist layer 167 (FIG. 6) is patterned to form a firstopening 168 (FIG. 6) which, on the left side of FIG. 4, is approximatelycoincident with the edge of the pinned photodiode 188 (the right mostedge of the pinned photodiode 188 in FIG. 6) and, from the right side ofFIG. 4 extends over the source follower transistor gate 136.

Next, the structure of FIG. 4 is subjected to a first dopantimplantation 169 with a dopant of the second conductivity type, whichfor exemplary purposes is n-type. This way, n-type ions are implantedthrough the first opening 168 to form an n-type implanted reset region199 located within the p-type doped layer 120 of the substrate 110 andin contact with and adjacent the n-type doped region 126 of the buriedphotodiode 188, as illustrated in FIG. 5. As described in more detailbelow, the n-type implanted region 199 is the reset region 199 of thepixel 100 of FIG. 7.

The deep dopant implantation 169 (FIG. 4) is conducted to implant n-typeions, such as arsenic, phosphorus or antimony, into an area of thesubstrate 110 located adjacent the buried photodiode 188 and asubsequently formed source/drain region 142 (FIG. 7) of the sourcefollower transistor 136. The dopant implantation 169 may be conducted byplacing the substrate 110 in an ion implanter and implanting appropriaten-type dopant ions through the first opening 168 (FIG. 6) into thesubstrate 110. The dopant concentration in the buried reset channelregion 199 is selected so that its pinning potential is higher than thepinning potential of the buried photodiode 188, to allow free electronflow to and through the buried reset channel region 199 and enable theburied reset channel region 199 to also function as an “anti-blooming”channel during the pixel signal integration period. The firstphotoresist layer 167 is then removed by conventional techniques.

Subsequent to the formation of the n-type buried reset channel region199, a second photoresist layer 176 (FIG. 5) is formed over the p-n-pphotodiode 188 and the transistor gate stacks 136, 138 to a thickness ofabout 1,000 Angstroms to about 10,000 Angstroms. The second photoresistlayer 176 (FIG. 5) is patterned with a mask (not shown) to obtain asecond opening 178 (FIG. 5), which is located above at least a portionof the implanted reset channel region 199 and has a width W₂ (FIG. 5)which is smaller than width W₁ (FIG. 4) of the first opening 168.

The structure of FIG. 5 is subjected to a second masked dopantimplantation 179 (FIG. 7) with a dopant of the first conductivity type,which for exemplary purposes is p-type. This way, p-type ions areimplanted through the second opening 178 (FIG. 7) to form a p-typeimplanted region 166 located within the buried reset channel region 199,as illustrated in FIG. 6. The second dopant implantation 179 isconducted to implant p-type ions, such as boron, beryllium, indium ormagnesium, into an area of the substrate 110 located within the buriedreset channel region 199. The dopant implantation 179 may be conductedby placing the substrate 110 in an ion implanter and implantingappropriate p-type dopant ions through the second opening 178 (FIG. 7)into the substrate 110. The implanted region 166 together with the resetchannel region form a diode which can be fabricated to impart particularcharge flow properties within the reset channel region 199.

The FIG. 6 structure is then covered with another resist layer and anopening is patterned therein to provide a location for a contact region177 (FIG. 7) within the buried reset channel 199. Contact region 177 isformed by conducting a dopant implantation with n-type ions, such asarsenic, phosphorus or antimony. The dopant concentration in the contactregion 177 is higher than the dopant concentration in the buried resetchannel region 199.

FIG. 7 illustrates a charge capacitor 171 electrically connected to avoltage source Vpd 176 (normally high at about 3.3 V) and to the resetregion 199 through the contact region 177 of the first conductivitytype. Preferably, the charge capacitor 171 has a high charge-per-unitarea capacitance, of about 5 to about 10 fF/μm². The charge capacitor171 may be formed over a portion of the pixel area defined by the STIregions 150 which surround the pixel, or elsewhere in the integratedcircuit, as desired.

FIG. 7 also illustrates the remaining devices of the pixel 100,including respective source/drain regions 140, 141, 142 of the sourcefollower and row select transistors 136, 138 formed on either sides oftheir respective gate stacks and within a p-type heavily doped well 121by well-known implantation methods. Regions 121, 140, 141 and 142 may beformed at an earlier stage of fabrication, if desired. Conventionalprocessing steps may be also employed to form contacts and wiring 137 toconnect the gate of source follower transistor to contact region 177,and to connect capacitor 171 to contact region 177. For example, theentire substrate surface may be covered with a passivation layer of,e.g., silicon dioxide, BSG, PSG, or BPSG, which is CMP planarized andetched to provide contact holes, which are then metallized to providecontacts to the contact region 177, gate 136 a of the source followertransistor (via conductor 137) and to voltage source Vdd. Conventionalmultiple layers of conductors and insulators to other circuit structuresmay also be used to interconnect the internal structures of the pixelcell and to connect the pixel cell structures to other circuitryassociated with a pixel array.

The electrical equivalent circuit for the two transistor pixelconstructed in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when light radiation in the form of photonsstrikes the n-doped charge collection region 126 of the photodiode 188,photo-energy is converted to electron-hole pairs. For the case of ann-doped photosite in a p-n-p photodiode, it is the electrons that areaccumulated in the n-doped region 126. Because of the difference indoping concentration between regions 126 and 199, generated electronsfreely flow into reset region 199 where they collect. During read out ofa pixel signal contact region 177 provides a voltage representingaccumulated charge to the gate of the source follower transistor.

Thus, when Vpd from a reset signal source 176 is normally high, forexample 3.3 V, electrons from charge collection region 126 easily flowto the n-doped buried reset channel 199 which acts as an extension ofcharge collection region 126 to contact 177, where the electrons arestored on capacitor 171. The voltage associated with the charge storedon capacitor 171 is applied to the gate 136 a of the source followertransistor 136 where it is amplified and read out as output Vout throughrow select transistor 138 when the gate 138 a of the row selecttransistor 138 is enabled.

The pixel is also reset before and after signal integration. Referringto FIGS. 7 and 8 during reset, the normally high voltage Vpd coupled tocapacitor 171 from reset signal source 176 is pulsed low, e.g., to zerovolts. This causes the charge within reset region 199 to effectivelymove upwardly in the direction of arrow A such that charges withinchannel 199 spill over barrier 147 into n+ region 142 which is connectedto Vdd. Thus, charges are ejected from the photodiode region 126 and thereset region 199 and into n+ region 142 connected to Vdd. Vpd is thenreturned to a high value, for example 3.3 V, allowing charge integrationto occur. This integrated charge is then read out in the mannerdescribed above. The barrier potential 147 is set to allow ananti-blooming operation to occur when charges collected on capacitor 171in region 199 exceed the barrier potential 147. This excess chargespills over to n+ region 142.

During reset, the Vdd line can also be pulsed low, if desired, to fillthe charge collection region 126 with electrons, after which Vdd returnshigh and Vpd is pulsed low. This causes the electrons in chargecollection region 126 to be flushed to Vdd which helps suppress anypotential lag in the pixel.

Referring to FIG. 9, light converted to electrons by photodiode 188provides a voltage at node A to the gate of source follower transistor136 which is read out as a pixel signal Vsig by row select transistor138 which is turned on after a light integration period. Node A is resetby the negative, e.g., 0 volt, Vpd pulse applied by reset signal source176 to one terminal of capacitor 171 which has its other terminalcoupled to node A. The reset voltage at node A is read out as a pixelreset signal Vrst by row select transistor 138 which is turned on afternode A is reset.

The pixel structure herein may be employed in an imager device 642having an array of pixels and associated pixel processing circuitry, atleast one of the pixels being a 2T pixel constructed according to theinvention. The imager device 642 itself may be coupled to a processorsystem as illustrated in FIG. 10. Processor system 600 is exemplary of asystem having digital circuits which could receive the output of CMOSimage device 642. Without being limiting, such a system could include acomputer system, camera system, scanner, machine vision, vehiclenavigation, video phone, surveillance system, auto focus system, startracker system, motion detection system, image stabilization system anddata compression system for high-definition television, all of which canutilize the present invention.

A processor based system, such as a computer system, for examplegenerally comprises, in addition to a CMOS imager 642 input device, acentral processing unit (CPU) 644, for example, a microprocessor, thatcommunicates with one or more input/output (I/O) devices 646 over a bus652. The CMOS image sensor 642 also communicates with the processorsystem over bus 652 or over other conventional communication path. Thecomputer system 600 also includes random access memory (RAM) 648, and,in the case of a computer system may include peripheral devices such asa floppy disk drive 654, and a compact disk (CD) ROM drive 656 or aflash memory card 657 which also communicate with CPU 644 over the bus652. It may also be desirable to integrate the processor 644, CMOS imagedevice 642 and memory 648 on a single IC chip.

Although the above embodiments have been described with reference to theformation of an n-type buried reset channel region, such as the n-typeburied reset channel region 199, adjacent a buried p-n-p photodiode, itmust be understood that the invention is not limited to this embodiment.The invention has equal applicability to p-type buried reset channelsadjacent buried n-p-n photodiodes and as part of a 2T pixel sensor cell.Of course, the dopant and conductivity type of all structures willchange accordingly.

The above description and drawings are only to be consideredillustrative of exemplary embodiments, which achieve the features andadvantages of the invention. Modification and substitutions to specificprocess conditions and structures can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not tobe considered as being limited by the foregoing description anddrawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A pixel comprising: a substrate; a photoconversion device fabricatedin said substrate, said device having a charge collection region; areset region of a first conductivity type fabricated in said substrateand coupled to said charge collection region, said reset region beingconfigured to apply a reset charge to said charge collection region inresponse to a pulsed reset signal applied to said reset region; a pulsedvoltage source for providing said pulsed reset signal; and a capacitor,said capacitor having a first terminal in electrical communication withsaid pulsed voltage source and a second terminal in electricalcommunication with said reset region, wherein said charge collectionregion is reset solely through a signal supplied by said capacitor. 2.The pixel of claim 1, wherein said first conductivity type is n-type. 3.The pixel of claim 1, wherein said reset region functions with saidcharge collection region as an extended charge collection region, saidextended charge collection region being reset by said pulsed resetsignal.
 4. The pixel of claim 3 further comprising: a source followertransistor for outputting a signal representing charge collected in saidextended charge collection region; and a row select transistor forselectively outputting a signal from said source follower transistor,wherein said capacitor stores charge collected in said charge collectionregion.
 5. The pixel of claim 4, wherein said charge capacitor has acharge-per-unit area capacitance value of about 5 fF/μm² to about 10Ff/μm².
 6. The pixel of claim 4, wherein said pulsed voltage source isoperable such that said charge level of said charge collection region isreset both before and after charge is collected in said chargecollection region.
 7. A pixel for use in an imaging device, said pixelcomprising: a charge collection region provided in a substrate; a resetregion consisting of a doped region provided in said substrate, saidreset region being adjacent said charge collection region forperiodically resetting a charge level of said charge collection regionin response to a reset signal applied to said reset region; a sourcefollower transistor for outputting a signal representing chargecollected in said charge collection region; a row select transistor forselectively outputting a signal from said source follower transistor; apulsed voltage source for providing a pulse signal; and a capacitor inelectrical communication with said pulsed voltage source, said resetregion, and said source follower transistor for storing charge collectedin said charge collection region, and for supplying said pulse signal assaid reset signal to said doped region.
 8. The pixel of claim 7, whereinsaid reset region functions with said charge collection region as anextended charge collection region, and wherein said pulsed voltagesource periodically supplies said pulse signal.
 9. The pixel of claim 7,wherein said capacitor has a charge-per-unit area capacitance value ofabout 5 to about 10 Ff/μm².
 10. The pixel of claim 7, wherein saidpulsed voltage source is operable such that said charge level of saidcharge collection region is reset both before and after charge iscollected in said charge collection region.
 11. The pixel of claim 7,wherein said reset region is doped with an n-type dopant at a firstdopant concentration.
 12. The pixel of claim 11, wherein said capacitoris connected to said reset region through a contact region.
 13. Thepixel of claim 12, wherein said contact region is doped with an n-typedopant at a second dopant concentration.
 14. The pixel of claim 13,wherein said second dopant concentration is higher than said firstdopant concentration.